The Curse Of Knowledge
by Yuna Yami Mouto
Summary: Stark was such a small thing, in his red armor, fragile despite his strength. Thanos knows him, has known him for years. Maybe longer. It feels like looking in a mirror. Only this reflection is glaring back and fighting to the death. This reflection is his soul brother and his fated enemy. It is the price of knowledge, a blessing and a curse. Warning: cannon character death


**The Curse Of Knowledge**

**Summary: Stark was such a small thing, in his red armor, fragile despite his strength. Thanos knows him, has known him for years. Maybe longer. It feels like looking in a mirror. Only this reflection is glaring back and fighting to the death. This reflection is his soul brother and his fated enemy. It is the price of knowledge, a blessing and a curse.**

The Infinity Stones and his mission have always been Thanos', the Mad Titan's, greatest obsession, or so says Gamora, his favorite daughter. And it _would_ have been true, had a certain incident not occurred. This incident, one measly battle compared to countless others he had fought and won, changed the course of his entire existence and he only learned the true extents of it long after he perished at the end of an Asgardian ax.

Earth year 2012, the planet remembers and will always remember as the year an alien invasion descended upon New York, the Chitauri lead by Loki attacking the city in a mad bit to conquer the world. There were so many levels to that fight that it wasn't even funny. Never the less, a group of 'heroes', the Avengers, stopped them and saved their world, or so goes the celebratory story and cries of victory going around the planet. The Tesseract, which the enemy was after, was secured and Loki was herded off to Asgard while humanity chanted their new heroes' names.

Thanos didn't see it quite like that. All he saw was the trickster god living up to his name, humanity's stupidity and one man, brave enough to venture through the portal all by himself and face his army head on with a single weapon and a suit of armor unlike any Thanos had ever seen, determined to save his people.

That day, Thanos might have lost _two_ Infinity Stones to Earth - and Asgard - but he had ultimately gotten something infinitely more precious.

Thanos was a futurist and a revolutionary. He had foreseen the fall of his own home planet decades before it happened, but his people had never listened to him or his radical explanations and solutions. Random genocide to cleanse the planet of the overpopulation that was slowly killing it. They couldn't see the genius in his solution. Everyone would be included and their planet and their people would still be alive had they just _listened_ to him. As it was, he was the last surviving Titan and he had sworn he will never let another Titan happen, no matter where the planet might be in the universe. And so he had started his crusade and started gathering followers around himself, teaching them his wisdom. The universe might _seem_ infinite, but its sources are _very_ much finite, limited. There were too many people. They were suffocating, the universe and each other. Halving all life in the universe would allow the other half to prosper and flourish. His mission is how he found and met his extraordinary children. Ebony Maw, Gamora, Nebula, Cull Obsidian, Proxima Midnight, Corvus Glaive and so many others. All of them except Gamora and Nebula understood his noble cause and his great mission, the burden he carries.

And yet none of them could carry it with him, because they only saw after he pointed it out to them. They could _look_ without _seeing_ or _see_ without truly _perceiving_. They didn't _know_ like he did, didn't _truly_ understand the implications of what was going on. They knew he was right and that was enough for them to kill millions in his name, billions. But to Thanos, that was just as useless.

He felt like that character out of human mythology, that Atlas fellow that had carried the weight of the heavens on his shoulders. Thanos was ready to bet that the heavens were a light burden compared to the weight on his own shoulders, the weight of the entire universe. He knew he was running out of time - both his own and the universe's - as he desperately searched for the Infinity Stones, the only artifacts in existence with the power to help him achieve his mission. With just a snap of his fingers, Thanos would have the power to reduce the life in the universe to half its number and achieve balance. It would be his legacy, but it was a burden he was starting to think himself too old to carry, at least all by himself. He had hoped his children would be enough to help him deal with it, but he was coming to understand that none of them had what it takes. They weren't cursed with the knowledge that he was.

But that day, when half of his mighty army was destroyed, Thanos found someone who _was_.

Now, Thanos had wanted to sweep up this _miracle_ and take it away, far, far away. Away from his backwater planet of a home that didn't appreciate him, somewhere where Thanos could monitor his progress and development as he used the universe's collective knowledge to extend the human's life span for centuries. A jewel like that is even more rare than the Infinity Stones. The problem with this new desire of his? The wormhole created by the Tesseract swallowed him and closed before Thanos could take him, leaving behind the explosion of the Chitauri mothership and for Thanos and his Black Order to clean up the mess, Earth once again millions of light years away. Needless to say, Thanos was not happy. As far as his children knew, it was the loss of the Mind Stone he had given the God of Mischief and the lost of the Space Stone in the Tesseract Loki was supposed to get for him that had caused his ire, when, in truth, it was the fact that the only one in the universe like himself has been taken from him. It felt like the universe was mocking, baiting him, showing him a possible companion on this lonely mission of his, only to yank it away, dangling it miles away, where he cannot yet reach. _Yet_ being the main word here. There will come a day when Thanos goes to Earth. A day when he will present the unique human with all the Infinity Stones and have him watch as he finishes his mission, gift him with the balance of the universe and ask him to keep it.

But before that day, Thanos has to collect the Infinity Stones and find a way to harness their power. Can't go to him empty handed.

Meanwhile, Thanos sent out agents to learn more about the man so much like himself. Just as he couldn't go to the man empty-handed, he couldn't approach him without knowing the most basic things about him. This was a unique man, his equal, the one person the universe had created for him. Thanos wasn't about to put him off by being rude. The last thing he wanted was for the man to turn a deaf ear to him just because the Titan had accidentally offended him through cultural differences or the such. He even got special modifications for his universal translator to comprehend ten of Earth's most spoken languages so that his counterpart would see the effort he put in.

And while he waited for his agents to deliver news of the red and gold armored man with a small star in his chest, Thanos focused on finding and attaining the Power Stone. He sent Gamora and Nebula to collaborate with the ever ambitious Kree and watched as the events played out, greatly displeased with the turn of events, given that Gamora betrayed him and defected just to hang out with those galactic rejects and freaks and then Nebula never returned, either. Thanos let them be, though, because the first news came about the man he was so interested in. It wasn't through any of his agents but instead through the scepter and the Mind Stone within it. The scepter was constructed to monitor, contain and control its energies, so every use of it was pretty much recorded and Thanos had a team monitoring its activities. Which is why, when the man touched it and it sent a message to him that not even the scepter could give Thanos knowledge of, Thanos' team was aware of it. The exchange of information like this, though, is a two way street. Only skilled magic users or telepaths can prevent people from seeing their thoughts while they meddled with their minds.

Stark, as the man's name turned out to be, was neither of those. He was completely human and a baseline human at that. No special power or ability, no training in combat or war. Just an incredible intellect the likes of which even the Mind Stone had rarely seen and enjoyed being near, judging by some of the energy spikes they kept detecting whenever the man was near. Well, at least until the scepter was robbed of the Stone and then destroyed, anyway.

Still, even a moment of contact had provided Thanos with plethora of information for his new fascination (read: obsession). Stark was a futurist, like Thanos himself. He was always ahead of the curve, could seemingly always predict how the winds will turn and was skillful and resourceful enough to always turn his back to it in time. The human had an understanding of the world around him well beyond the rest of his race, had technology almost on par with technology of the rest of the universe, and yet people often ridiculed him and even more so completely ignored the warnings he would give. Thanos did not like this parallel to himself, but this only confirmed what he had known since the day he had seen Stark blow the Chitauri to kingdom come. They were truly two of a kind. Only Stark seems to be rolling with the punches, laughing at all the jokes (degrading comments) made about him, by strangers and friends alike, determinedly continuing fighting an uphill, _losing_ battle, even though he knew the outcome.

Thanos didn't understand. Those people were so beneath him, didn't deserve his mercy, much less his kindness. They didn't deserve him or his continued efforts to singlehandedly fix his planet, though Thanos was very impressed with all the effort, the ideas running through that genius mind - and by the stars, what a mind! Even in the instance of receiving a message from an Infinity Stone, Stark's mind was alight with thousands of thoughts of the most varying kind. It was a mind and a brain the likes of which Thanos had never seen before and it only made Stark that much more intriguing - the success he managed to achieve all on his own and how he seemed to pull people along with him. He seemed to be the leading star of humanity towards a brighter future, but humans, like humans tend to, were taking too long and Thanos knew, without a doubt, that Stark will expire long before he can save them. Even if he had Thanos' lifespan, humans were so backwater and so simpleminded that it was a surprise and a downright miracle of the universe that a marble like Stark was one of them.

The man truly deserved his status as a genius. He taught himself engineering from a young age, mastered his craft and started reshaping the world one step at a time, even going from the business of destruction into a field of creation and preservation. The most advanced piece of technology on Earth was created in a _cave_ from a box of _scraps_. And he never stopped developing his design, making it better, finding a better energy core - and creating an _element_! _How_ was he _human_!? _Why_ was he _wasted_ on humanity!? The universe is playing a cruel joke on them all - and continuing his studies in better materials and ways of making and packing his suit of armor. Thanos, unfortunately, had very limited information on him and even less updates. Besides, he had to focus on getting the other Stones. The Tesseract was on Asgard and so had been the Aether, until those fools gave the Reality Stone to the Collector in Knowhere of all people and places. Meanwhile, Xandar was in range, where the Power Stone awaited for Thanos to come and pick it up. Asgard was still too big of a bite to chew, so Thanos patiently waited. His informants had recently told him that Odin is sick and that Loki had taken on his guise and his throne, banishing the old man on Earth. Unfortunately, while he drew breath, whether he was there personally or not, Asgard was too strong for Thanos' army to take on.

But the other realms were ripe for the picking, as Loki was pulling all armies back to Asgard to fight off the Titan he knew was coming for him. A cute attempt to delay the inevitable, but ultimately futile.

So Thanos attacked and raided Nivadellir and set his sights on Xandar, just as Asgard fell. It was as though the universe was finally seeing things his way and was working with him to restore its balance. He took the Power Stone and chased down the Asgardian refugees, letting his troops deal with them and giving his children a chance to have some fun before things got serious. It was all being set into motion. As soon as he has the Tesseract's Space Stone, no corner of the universe will be too far away. And the trickster god gave it up pretty quickly when Thanos threatened his oaf of an adopted older brother. Even the short brawl with the green beast wasn't enough to slow him down, though the watcher sent the beast to Earth before Thanos could finish him off. That only made Thanos' excitement spike. Stark will hear of his quest and no doubt join his noble cause! The day has come for him to pick up his soul brother.

Only for him to go to Knowhere to get the Reality Stone and Gamora and to finally get the Soul Stone - at what a cost! - and to find out that Stark was not his soul brother. He was his destined adversary, his opponent, his enemy. They were not meant to conquer the universe together, to bring about its balance and peace. They were meant to fight to the bitter end. Stark wasn't going to join him in his campaign. He was going to stand his ground in his way, fighting him with the same determination as he'd fought all of his previous enemies.

And it was so with a heavy heart that Thanos followed the Power Stone's instructions to Titan, where it had sensed the ever elusive Time Stone and its Keeper. The wizard greeted him with a cool and calm air about himself considering he had just been kidnapped across the universe. He wasn't sympathetic to Thanos' cause, but Thanos sensed something strange in the man, something about his disposition. He was in mourning, even before their confrontation began. It was like he knew the outcome and knew the price was not worth it in the end.

It made dread spread through Thanos and then suddenly, a rock hit him in the face. And so the fight began. The Titan won't deny their tactic was pretty solid, but he had never thought Peter Quill - he liked him; Gamora knew how to choose them, even if they were ultimately idiots - would loose his cool like that. It only drew the point deeper that there was no one who could understand Thanos and his mission. And so he broke free and all but decimated the 'Guardians of the Galaxy' and the 'Avengers'. The spider-like teen was of no consequence to him but he _did_ slam a moon on Stark - if they were fated to be enemies, then Thanos will finish him off with a quick, inevitable death. He could not afford loose ends - before he turned to face the wizard. _Stephen Strange, Sorcerer Supreme_, whispered the Soul Stone, purring when the name was put in connotation to Stark, which only displeased Thanos. Somehow, _they_ were the soul brothers Thanos had wanted Stark to be with him, which made the fight all the more personal. He _will_ admit it was hard to defeat the wizard. He had plenty of tricks. And standing up to four Infinity Stones was no small feat. But he had made the mistake of not using his most powerful weapon, the Time Stone hidden away. Thanos threw him away, all but knocking him unconscious with the force he put behind the move, and advanced on the sorcerer, thinking of all the ways he can extract the Stone's location from him a bit too gleefully, when something red and gold attached itself to his Gauntlet covered hand and the armored hero he had thought dead landed in front of him, between Thanos and the sorcerer. Not a single scratch on him. It would seem he had perfected his design since the last time Thanos had the pleasure of an update on him.

He just stood there, angry, determined and ready to fight to his dying breath. "You throw another moon at me and I'm gonna loose it."

"Stark," Thanos said, doing his best to keep the respect and wonder out of his voice. Stark was such a small thing, in his red armor, fragile despite his strength. He was only human. Much stronger species had died from much weaker assaults. How was the man even alive!? _'A question worthy of his life story.'_

"You know me?" Stark asked after a pause, sounding confused and disturbed by the notion, which kind of saddened the purple behemoth. He himself had been greatly looking forward to this moment, but it would seem his sentiment was not returned. Not by Stark. And, _oh_! Such a silly question. There was only one rather obvious answer. Thanos knows him, has known him for years. Maybe longer, deep down in his soul. It sure feels like it. There was no other reason to feel such grief at a lost partnership.

"I do," he answered, taking in the sight of this warrior that the world kept pushing down and that just kept springing back up, ready for more, fighting until he finds a solution he is happy with. It feels like looking in a mirror. Only this reflection is glaring back and fighting to the death. This reflection is his soul brother and his fated enemy. "You're not the only one cursed with knowledge."

This time, Iron Man didn't even hesitate to reply. "My only curse is you." They fought. Stark made him bleed. And Stark lost, pierced through his side with his own weapon. The suit was too powerful for Thanos to keep the man down for long. It recovered and rebuilt. And Stark was not an enemy one would want to let live. He always came back with twice the punishment. So Thanos aimed to kill and was preparing to do it, saying he respected his fated opponent and hoped humanity will remember its brave defender, when the sorcerer butted in again, calling for their attention.

"Spare his life and I will give you the Stone."

And maybe Thanos agreed to that all too eagerly but, as far as he was concerned, he had won. He went to Earth, got the Mind Stone and snapped his finger, completing his mission all without killing his supposed destined foe. Stark lived, which meant Thanos still had a chance to make a change in their fated relationship. They could still be soul brothers, especially now that the wizard was gone. But first, to rid him of temptation, Thanos snapped his fingers a second time and destroyed the Infinity Stones, despite their whispered protests. It also left a trail for those clever enough to find him and Stark had half a decade worth of knowledge on Infinity Stones. He'll eventually come and face Thanos again and Thanos will use this chance to bring him to his side. If he knew anything about the Avengers, they will come.

And they did, only Stark was not with them. Broken in body and spirit, the man never left Earth once he landed. Thanos was greeted by his aggravated teammates and Nebula, his only surviving child, easily overpowered, interrogated as to the whereabouts of the Stones and when he told them, he was swiftly killed by the Thunder God's magical ax. His last thoughts were spent on how Stark will thrive before the last of his neurons died and his soul went to the great beyond.

He wasn't with the souls lost in the snap but neither was he with the souls that died normally. Like in life, he was a solitary presence in oblivion of infinity. The space around him was dark, void of other souls, only the most minimal of light reaching him. It was a great deception when people said the dead could watch over the living. Thanos wanted nothing more than to observe how his counterpart flourished in the world he had created for him. And, after five years, he finally got to do just that. The Avengers had started collecting Infinity Stones through time travel, invented by none other than Stark, and getting them assured _some_ contact between Thanos and Stark. The Stones were mocking him, it would seem. The _universe_ was mocking him, because they still had Stark while he had never had him. And Thanos watched in despair as his hard work was undone. Even with his past self joining the fight, the remaining Avengers and their allies had five years of hate to channel and Stark had five years to prepare for Thanos.

Oh, and the damned _wizard_ was back and Stark greeted him like an old friend. Strange was still grieving, was still mourning, and that same dread from five years ago flickered back to life in Thanos. The sorcerer had been the Keeper of the Time Stone. He knew all its tricks and secrets. Was it really too far fetched for him to have used it to gaze into the future?

He had set this up.

He had given up the Time Stone for a mere mortal's life.

He had known this would happen.

He had sacrificed Stark.

And for what? And ungrateful universe? Thanos would never give up Stark. Stark was a fighter. Stark deserved to flourish. He _had_! He had a daughter! Why would Strange _do_ this!?

"I am inevitable," Thanos watched as his past self said, snapping his fingers to destroy _all_ current life in the universe, only to find that the red Gauntlet is empty of the Stones it was meant to house. He looked up and a shot of fear seared through both dead and past Thanos when they saw Stark, kneeling, raise his right hand, showing off all of the Infinity Stones and a look of determination and something akin to relief on his face.

"And I ... Am ... Iron Man." And he snapped his fingers. And Thanos' past self dissolved into dust along with his army. And with them, the burned and heavily scarred Stark collapsed, his life slowly seeping out of his body. Thanos could only watch as Earth's best defender, its greatest hero and most beloved Avenger faded away with not another word. He watched as the gathered heroes all kneel down before him. The only time soldiers, aliens, a king, a princes, a general, soldiers, a god, a celestial, warriors and Masters of the Mystic Arts all kneel down for a mortal, for a mere human. No superpowers, no special training, nothing but his drive and his intellect.

A single man, _destined_ to fight Thanos.

To save the universe.

_To spend eternity with others like him_, thought Thanos with giddy excitement as another soul appeared with him in this blackness. It would seem that those who use _all_ of the Infinity Stones are meant to spend the afterlife together, in a space secluded from other deceased souls.

And when the soul appeared, Thanos was blinded. Stark shined like a star, brighter than the strongest supernova. His soul was alight with colors of hot rod red, gold and surrounded with the colors of the Infinity Stones. And, at the heart of him, lay that same blue light that he had had in his chest, the beginning of his journey. Compared to Thanos' meager light, Stark's soul lit up the whole space, no corner left dark. The dead Titan gladly soaked up his light, enjoyed his warmth and bathed in the presence of a soul so similar to his own, in his thoughts at least.

Someone disagreed.

A familiar sparkling orange portal opened and through it stepped none other than the Sorcerer Supreme along with another soul. The Soul Stone informed him Stark liked _soldiers_ and _doctors_, especially doctors with facial hair and who can put up with his obnoxiously overwhelming personality, that he had a weak spot for them. Strange and the other soul, shaped like a bald man with glasses, reached for Stark's peaceful soul and Thanos _lunged_ at them. Stark has been taken from him in life, more than once. The Mad Titan refused to let go of him in death, especially when that meant losing him for eternity. But the two doctors were too close and the other soul snatched Stark's up with such gentleness, fondness and care that Thanos' 'heart' froze and he faltered in shock. Strange took that opportunity to usher the two souls through the portal, sending the still unconscious soul of Stark a fond, knowing look that churned Thanos' insides and he roared, intent on ripping the two men apart. But Strange was ready and with a last triumphant - in Thanos' eyes - look shot at the charging Titan, the portal closed. Taking Stark away from him. For eternity.

Leaving him alone in the darkness, never to see another, never to see the man that could be his soul's brother.

It is the price of knowledge, a blessing and a curse.

**THE END**


End file.
